Pick-up highway sweeper and conveyor assembly



PICK-UP HIGHWAY SWEEPER AND CONVEYOR ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 16, 1968 C- H. RAIMER June 2, 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Charles HRaimer INVENTOR H-H H June 2, 1970 c. H. RAIMER 3,514,801

PICK-UP HIGHWAY SWEEPER AND CONVEYOR ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 16, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 :4 37 Z 3 i i 2 30 g E f== 1': I

ii I I w T 5% 37:1

Charles liRcu'mer F 7 BY INVENTOR AIM-y.

United States Patent O 3,514,801 PICK-UP HIGHWAY SWEEPER AND CONVEYOR ASSEMBLY Charles H. Raimer, Central Point, Oreg., assignor to Guthrie Machinery Company, Portland, Oreg., a corporation of Oregon Filed Sept. 16, 1968, Ser. No. 762,285 Int. Cl. EOlg N02 US. Cl. 1584 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sweeper having a chassis, a debris receiving hopper, a rotatable broom and a debris conveyor leading into the hopper, and a conveyor assembly associated with the sweeper and interposed between the hopper of the sweeper and its conveyor in order to permit the bypassing of the hopper and allow the debris being swept up by the broom to be conveyed directly into a debris hauling vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the Northwest and probably elsewhere where snow on highways is a problem, the highway departments scatter a fine aggregate over the highways which are covered by snow or which are icy. The aggregate has a substantial deterrent effect against skidding by vehicles and provides a frictional surface against which tires grip and thereby reduce the possibilities of loss of control of the vehicle when traversing over highways having packed snow or ice. When the snow or ice eventually melts, this aggregate remains on the road and vehicular tratfic often causes the small aggregate to fly into the air and to scatter toward the center of the highway and on to the shoulders and oftentimes to strike the windows and Windshields of other vehicles traveling on the highway. Whether the intent is to remove and reuse the aggregate or only to remove, the highway departments usually employ pickup sweepers, such as the Wayne 3- wheel, model 450 sweeper, or similar types of sweepers, which travel on the highways and sweep up this aggregate into the hoppers located in the sweeper mechanism. When the hopper of the sweeper is fully loaded, it is then necessary for the sweeper to leave its sweeping chore, assume its chore as a hauler of debris and then return to its primary task of sweeping the highways clean of the aggregate referred to.

The aggregate is costly and the highway departments have found it economical to reclaim, reprocess and store the aggregate for reuse at such time as it might be needed. In order to carry on the reclaiming and reprocessing of the swept up aggregate for eventual reuse, a loader is now employed to pick up the aggregate from the area where the sweeper has brought and dumped it and to load the sweepings (aggregate and all) on trucks and then transport the swept aggregate to the processing plant for reprocessing, cleaning and storage.

It is obvious that under present method of removal of the aggregate from the highway, reprocess it and store it, several steps are carried out from the time the sweeper sweeps the highway and the time these sweepings are finally processed for reuse, namely:

(a) Pick up the aggregate from the road by the sweeper;

(b) Bring the swept aggregate to a central location using the sweeper as the vehicle to carry the same;

(0) Unload the aggregate from the sweeper at the dumping area;

(d) Use a loader to load the swept aggregate on to a truck;

(e) Transport the loaded material to the processing plant;

(f) Return the reprocessed aggregate to a central location for storage and reuse at a later time.

Pat. No. 886,263 relates to a machine which sweeps the ground but does not transfer the material swept into a vehicle for transporting same to a central location.

Pat. No. 1,500,558 is a pickup sweeper only.

Pat. No. 3,162,877 is also a pickup sweeper only.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The principal object of the invention is to permit a pick up type of sweeper to continuously carry on its function of removing aggregate from the highway while simultaneously loading the swept aggregate directly into a vehicle for transporting it to a central point for cleaning, storage and subsequent reuse.

Another object of the invention is to permit the use of a Wayne 3-wheel model 450 or similar type of pick up sweeper to perform its function as a sweeper and not to act as a carrier of the sweepings picked up to a central location.

Another object of the invention is to permit the pick up type sweeper to carry out its normal sweeping functions for which it has been designed, but, with no substantial change in its design, to eliminate its function as a carrier of debris during its operation of removing soiled and unneeded aggregate from a highway.

The invention will be clearly defined and the above and other objects and advantages thereof will become more apparent from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like parts are identified by the same reference characters, wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1, represents a fanciful and schematic side elevational view, partially broken away, of a truck, a pickup type sweeper and a conveyor, showing their respective positions when in operating relationship to each other and showing the direction of their movement as they travel over a highway sweeping up the aggregate and delivering it directly into the truck;

FIG. .2, is a top view of the conveyor embodying my invention;

FIG. 3, is a side elevation of the conveyor;

FIG. 4, is a sectional view of the chute associated with the conveyor belt taken on line 44 of FIG. 3, looking in the direction indicated;

FIG. 5, is a sectional view of a portion of the conveyor assembly taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 2, looking in the direction indicated;

FIG. 6, is a top View of the structural features provided between the pick up sweeper and the vehicle receiving the sweepings; and

FIG. 7, is a side view taken on line 77 of FIG. 6 looking in the direction indicated.

3 DETAILED DESCRIPTION In FIG. 1, the pickup sweeper is generally designated by reference character A, the conveyor assembly by reference character B and the hauling vehicle by reference character C, all schematically and fancifully delineated.

No structural alterations are required on the basic elements of sweeper A, which represents a standard type \Vayne three wheel, model No. 450- sweeper, except that a pair of brackets 21, only one of which is shown, are secured, in spaced relation, at the top front portion of sweeper A, and an auxiliary bumper, the structural features of which will be described later herein, is secured to the front bumper of the sweeper. Other types of pickup sweepers could also be employed with slight modification to carry out the essential object of the invention.

FIGS. 2 through reveal the structural characteristics of the aggregate conveyor used in directly removing the swept up aggregate by sweeper A into the hauling vehicle C. The conveyor consists of a pair of spaced angle irons 2 and 3 in coplanar relation to which another pair of angle irons 4 and 5 are laterally brazed to form obtuse angles therewith. A plurality of U-shaped spaced cross bars 6 secure the angle irons in fixed and rigid relationship to each other.

A chute 7 is positioned at and above angle irons 2 and 3 and is rigidly secured thereto by pairs of braces 8 and 9. Extending from the open mouth of the chute 7 and in lateral spaced relation to each other, are a pair of plates 10 and 11, braced for rigidity by a plurality of pairs of inverted V-shaped braces 12 and 13 and to the sides of chute 7. Braces 12 and 13 are, in turn secured to their respective angle irons 2 and 3.

A drum 14 is rotatably positioned between angle irons 2 and 3, immediately below chute 7 in bearings 15 and 16. Another drum 17 is controllably positioned between angle irons 4 and 5 in bearings :18 and 19, with its shaft 20 extending beyond angle iron 4 for reception of a sprocket 21 keyed thereto.

An endless conveyor belt 22, made of material suitable for handling aggregate, passes over drums 14 and 17, and has a plurality of cleats 23 spaced on its upper surface. A plurality of pairs of weight bearings and direction positioning rollers 24 are intermittently secured to the angle irons on bearinged stub shafts 25.

An hydraulically operated motor 26, or any other source of power, is secured to angle iron 4 with its shaft positioned in lateral alignment to shaft 20 of drum 17. A sprocket 27, keyed to the power take-off shaft, transmits power to sprocket 17 by means of chain 28.

The conveyor B may be removably secured to sweeper A by attaching cars 29 to brackets 21 on the sweeper A and by a pair of rods 30 secured to the bumper of the sweeper as shown at 31 and 32.

As previously stated an auxiliary bumper is secured to the front bumper of the sweeper A and its structural features are illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. The auxiliary bumper consists of a pair of spaced members 33 and 34. Member 34 has a pair of brackets 35 and 36 secured thereto. Each pair of brackets has aligned openings therethrough into which a pin 37 snugly fits and which is prevented from disengagement in any desirable manner.

Member 33 of the auxiliary bumper is secured to the standard bumper of the sweeper A and has a pair of openings 38 and 39 therethrough aligned with brackets 35 and 36 and also with tubular shafts 40 and 41 respectively. A pair of rods 42 and 43, each having an eye 44 at one end, is slidably positioned and retained in their respective tubular shafts 40 and 41 respectively. The eye 44 of each of said rods fits between the pairs of brackets 35 and 36 and is movably retained therebetween by pins 37. A pair of expanded coil springs 45 and 46 is confined between members 33 and 34 of the auxiliary bumper and surround rods 42 and 43 respectively.

The foregoing modifications to the sweeper A is essential to the fulfillment of the main objects of the invention, since the sweeper is used to push hauling vehicle C. Con sequently it is also necessary to add a complementary structure to the hauling vehicle C. The structure by which this is accomplished is also shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. A pair of brackets 47 and 48 are secured to the rear of hauling vehicle C and a member 49 is, in turn, secured to these brackets. A Y-shaped yoke 50 is secured to member 49 and contains a roller 51 rotatably therewith. Roller 51 rides on member 34 0f the auxiliary bumper attached to the sweeper A, when the sweeper pushes the vehicle as it sweeps up the aggregate, and the structural features contained in 'both of these modifications permits for lateral and vertical compensation between the two.

Ordinarily the pick-up sweeper A deposits, via its own conveyor, the sweepings into its hopper. This function is entirely eliminated, when conveyor B is inserted into the hopper of the sweeper so that the sweepings fall onto the conveyor belt 22. As the sweeper A pushes hauling vehicle C while carrying on its sweeping function, the conveyor B deposits the sweepings directly into the hauling vehicle C, thereby eliminating entirely the need for the sweeper to act as a hauling vehicle.

The advantages of the invention heretofore described undoubtedly will be clear to those skilled in the art without further detailed description; and while the drawing shows one embodiment of the invention and the salient features thereof only by way of example, it is quite possible that changes may be made in the details of construction which, nevertheless, will come within the scope of this invention, and therefore I do not wish to limit myself to the disclosure shown and described herein except as specified in the following claims, in which:

I claim:

1. A conveyor assembly for a street sweeper having a chassis, a debris conveyor mounted in said chassis, a debris receiving hopper, broom means operably associated with said debris conveyor and means for operating said debris conveyor and said broom means comprising in combination: a conveyor belt supporting frame removably attached to the sweeper chassis and partially disposed in the debris hopper immediately below the debris conveyor, a conveyor belt on said frame, and means for operating said belt associated with said chassis whereby the debris hopper of the street sweeper is by-passed and the debris is transferred directly to a hauling vehicle.

2. A conveyor assembly for a street sweeper having a chassis, a debris conveyor mounted in said chassis, a debris receiving hopper, broom means operably associated with said debris conveyor and means for operating said debris conveyor and said :broom means comprising in combination: a conveyor belt supporting frame removably attached to the sweeper chassis and partially disposed in the debris hopper immediately below the debris conveyor, a conveyor belt on said frame, and hydraulic means for operating said belt associated with said chassis whereby the debris hopper of the street sweeper is bypassed.

3. In a pick-up type sweeper having a chassis provided with means for sweeping the surface over which it is directed and delivering the swept debris into a hopper, a conveyor assembly removably attached thereto and positioned in said hopper, comprising a conveyor belt supporting frame removably attached to the sweeper chassis and partially disposed in said hopper, a conveyor belt on said frame, and means for operating said belt associated with said sweeper whereby said hopper is by-passed and the debris transferred directly to a hauling vehicle.

4. In combination with a sweeper having a chassis, a debris receiving hopper, means for sweeping the surface over which it is directed, and means for delivering the sweepings into a hopper, of a conveyor assembly removably attached to said chassis and interposed between the hopper and conveyor means of said sweeper, comprising a conveyor belt supporting frame removably attached to the sweeper body and partially disposed in said hopper, 2,153,037 4/1939 Chaffins 214-41 a conveyor belt on said frame, and means for operating 2,438,578 3/1948 Runyan 293-70 said belt associated with said sweeper whereby said hopper is by-passed and the debris transferred directly to a FOREIGN PATENTS hauling 1 1,131,715 6/ 1962 Germany.

References b Great Britain UNITED STATES PATENTS EDWARD L. ROBERTS, Primary Examiner 1,092,929 4/1914 Maxwell 1584 1,197,345 9/1916 Cleven 1s s4 1,615,046 1/1927 Shaw 293 7o 198- 4; 214-42 

